Saturn reliability doesn't match its vehicle's style

There is a popular TV commercial running now where a prospective buyer has to walk outside the showroom and double-check to see if he's actually in a Saturn dealership. The premise being that the vehicles he sees don't look like Saturns of old, but are the types of stylish designs he'd expect to find somewhere else.

Too bad Saturn's reliability, like that of the Saturn Aura, hasn't caught up with its vehicle lines looks. No doubt Saturn has come a long way since those first vehicle designs that resembled some type of unrecognizable fish in the sea.

But if Saturn really wants to attract future buyers, the automaker has to begin putting the same amount of quality into their vehicle's performance and dependability that it has put into their new designs.

The pricey 2008 Aura, last season's "Car of the Year" award winner, is a prime example of great looks, but shoddy reliability. And when going head to head with proven winners like the Nissan Altima and VW Passat, Saturn cannot afford to let a product hit the street that the public has little faith in.

Comments

[Jonathan]

Everyone is raving out the new Aura, saying it's luxurious, a smooth ride and boxes out noise. It's reliability is 3/5 by JD Power though. Hopefully next year they will fix this problem.

[Sue B.]

Hey, if nothing else, it was declared the Most Washable Car of 2007 by the International Carwash Association. It's least likely to retain dirt because of the aerodynamic lines. The question is whether it's more washable or more a washout.

[ckroll98]

There are always bugs with the 1st year of the new model. Yeah, the outside of the Aura looks great, but the major inner-workings are a lot harder to test reliability and durability. Eventually, with enough complaints and problems, the engineers will fix the problems. Once they do, a lot more of Saturn's vehicles will be unbeatable.

[CharlesWayne]

So what? Neither did Dodge's Durango. Sure, the style was great, but the reliability was terrible. Recalls, problems, and repairs put a bad taste in people's mouths, but eventually, the builders corrected the problems and made a best seller. Give it time.

[Ivan]

The interior styling is not anything to write home about either. There's a lot of rough plastic that you don't notice right away. If you're even a little detail oriented, you might feel as though you've stepped into a car that wasn't quite ready to be released from the production floor.

[mop921]

Saturn is just doing what makes financial sense. People don't stop and stare at a new car that's really, really reliable. They stop for a car based on its looks. Later, the reviews come in, but they're trying to jump-start their sales. We'll see if they follow up with reliability.

[val]

I think Saturn is headed in the right direction. Give it a couple of years and I think people's minds will be changed. If they have a couple of years, that is.